It’s important to note that I am not a BATGIRL reader, but a huge fan of Batwoman, and her guest appearance, falling on a week where I was only pulling a few other books, is what brought me to BATGIRL #12. As such, I’m not too familiar with Knightfall, and whatever else has been going on in this series.

That said, this issue did a fine job of filling me in without boring me to death with new-reader exposition. So there’s that.

This is an intermediate chapter of BATGIRL’s ongoing plot, and seems fine on its own. Simone’s script feels a little wordy, maybe. But Batgirl is likeable as ever in the hands of someone who knows what she’s about.

The art’s good – sometimes maybe a tad busy, trying to cram too much into one page. But serviceable at the worst.

Though the fight between Batgirl and Batwoman promised by the cover is probably the highlight of the issue, Batwoman’s inclusion in the story also feels sort of pointless: she adds nothing in particular to the story, nor is she following any obvious plot thread from her own book. It feels like an unnecessary crossover, but at least it isn’t one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it types. Batwoman’s wedged into the plot here and serves some contrived function; she doesn’t just show up to deliver a few lines of dialogue and then vanish again.

If you’re a BATGIRL reader, you’ll probably want to look to someone who knows the series for a more proper review; but if you’re a BATWOMAN reader enticed by that cover, I can say that there’s a little fun to be had, and it’s not the worst $2.99 you could spend this week, but this crossover is one you could easily ignore.